Posted 01/14/2010 10:41 AM

Post-Game Thoughts
Portland jumped out to a 31-16 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, leading by as much as 33 during the third quarter, before ending up with a 120-108 victory to improve to 24-16. Don't be fooled by Milwaukee's 100+ point outing as over 1/3 of their points (36) came from behind the arc and on 29 attempts. Once the lead grew to over 30, the Bucks were content with just chucking up any and every three made available to them. It was a complete team effort for the Trail Blazers as they had 8 of their 11 players with 9 points or more, lead by Roy's 22. A blowout was exactly what the doctor ordered for Roy, as he sat out the last 15+ minutes of the game in order to rest a sore hamstring that has been nagging him recently.

"It's seen better days," Roy said when asked about the hamstring. "It kind of grabbed on me a little bit, and I went downcourt and we were up 30, and I said, 'Coach, I don't have to play anymore. Could you maybe keep me out?' It was pretty sore."

"As long as I can play, I'll keep trying. Hopefully Friday it doesn't burn more. Early in a game it feels good, but as the game gets into the third or fourth quarter, it seems like it starts to fatigue a little bit."

For a supposed "Play-Making" point guard, Brandon Jennings was lackluster to say the least tonight. Almost a carbon copy of his performance against Portland the last time around, he decided not to attempt a shot until very late in the 2nd quarter. He looked passive and disinterested most of the time and when he did shoot in the 2nd half, they were awkward and difficult jump shots, with nothing heading to the rim. Known for his flashy passes to set up teammates, Jennings must have not watched game tape of the last meeting, because he made no attempt to get Andrew Bogut the ball. Bogut abused Przybilla in December, yet he was only able to shoot the ball eight times and ended up with only 10 points against Juwan Howard most of the night.

LaMarucs must read the blog, because he was en fuego tonight. The stat-line read 21 points (10-15), 7 rebounds, dropped 6 dimes, blocked 2 shots, and had 1 steal in one of his most well-rounded games of his career. He was doing it from inside, outside, and running the court. It was so refreshing to see the team continually feed him in the post and he was making legit post moves, and attacking his defender. Most o his points came on aggressive takes to the basket and not his patented fade-away. If we get this Aldridge consistently, then Roy has his 2nd option.

Although it was a team win, with everyone contributing equally for the most part, two other players really stood out well. With his 15 points, on 6-10 shooting and 3-4 from deep, Martell Webster scored in double figures for the 7th straight game which is a career best. I really think a trade must be made to clear some space in the backcourt, because it is becoming clearly obvious that Webster really plays well when he can get into a rhythm and play good minutes.

The other player who is like a fine wine that only gets better with age, no, not Juwan Howard, rather Andre Miller. Ever since Coach Nate finally handed him the reigns to the offense, Andre has been flourishing. Tonight was just another example of how well he has been playing. He scored 19 points (6-8), got to the line 12 times, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and committed only one turnover. Just as we talked about how poorly Brandon Jennings has been in his last 5 games, Andre has been he polar opposite. Scoring 17.6 points, grabbing 4.6 boards, and handing out 8.2 assists during his last 5. So many times when the shot clock is winding down, you can feel safe with the ball in Miller's hands because he will find a way to get to the line by sing his crafty, veteran pump fakes.
Box Score